Wire reel structure

ABSTRACT

A wire reel structure includes a casing body, a reel unit and a signal line unit. The casing body includes a central pillar, and the reel unit is contained in the casing body. The signal line unit includes first and second signal lines, and the first signal line is passed into reel unit and wound at an external side of the reel unit. The second signal line is connected to the first signal line and wound at an external side of the central pillar. The first and second signal lines are signal lines with different deformation curves, and the second signal line has a greater flexibility than the flexibility of the first signal line, such that the second signal line will not be folded reversely when wire sections in the casing body are rotated.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wire reel, in particular to a wire reel structure for coiling signal lines made of different materials with different flexibilities.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

To manage long signal lines, a wire reel mechanism is generally provided for automatically coiling data, audio/video and control signal transmission lines such as USB signal transmission lines of computer peripherals, and such wire reel mechanism usually includes a reel unit driven by a coil spring for its rotation, and the coil spring produces an elastic torque to drive the reel unit to rotate and coil the signal line automatically. In the process of pulling out the signal line, the reel unit keeps on rotating, such that the coil spring produces an elastic torque in a reverse direction, and when the signal line is no longer pulled, the coil spring will start driving the reel unit to coil the signal line automatically. The wire reel mechanism generally comes with a braking design for fixing the reel unit, preventing the coil spring from further automatically coiling the signal line, and fixing the position of an exposed portion of the signal line that is provided for users to fix the signal line.

With reference to FIG. 1 for a conventional wire reel, a cable 11 is divided into two sections, wherein a first section 111 is a wire-out area and a second section 112 is a rear-end wire-out area as well as a fixed end. The cable 11 having the first section 111 and the second section 112 adopts a circuit board 12 or any other interface and an elastic plate 13 as contact media to allow the first section 111 and the second section 112 to have the function of electrical connections.

However, the aforementioned one-way automatic wire reel simply uses the circuit board 12 or other media and the elastic plate 13 as contacts for the electric connection, such that when the cable 11 is pulled out or rewound, the circuit board 12 and the elastic plate 13 are rotably contacted. Since the elastic plate 13 is moved on the circuit board 12, jitters are inevitable, and plug-and-play devices used in a computer may be disconnected. If the transmission of the cable 11 is disconnected, the computer will consider the device unplugged, and a driver program will be loaded to establish a communication channel again. With this drawback, the aforementioned wire reel is generally used in stereo devices such as earphones and voice boxes only, but its use is not suitable for computer peripherals.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 for another conventional wire reel, whose cable 11′ is passed through both ends of a reel unit 14′ and out from a casing 15′, so that the wire reel can overcome the problem of the aforementioned wire reel. However, this conventional wire reel has the drawback that the cable 11′ may be broken easily due to the design of the wire reel structure, such that the using life is reduced.

If the cable 11′ is at a coiling state, a wire section 112′ in a self-rotating area 152′ will be tangled with the exterior of the central pillar 151′of the casing 15′. In the figures, if a wire-out section 111′ of the cable 11′ is pulled out, the wire section 112′ in the self-rotating area 152′ will be rotated accordingly and wound around the central pillar 151′. However, the cable 11 at this wire section 112′ may be folded in a reversed direction during the rotation due to factors like space, wire hardness and thickness. Therefore, it is necessary to unfold the wire section 112′ before pulling out or rewinding the wire section 111′. Since the cable 11 may be folded in a reverse direction, it is necessary to unfold the cable with an angle of 180 degrees every time of releasing or rewinding the wire reel, and such reverse folding may damage a conductor in the cable 11′ or may even break the conductor of the cable. Thus, the wire reel of this sort has a major drawback of its short using life limited to approximately 1000 to 3000 times of winding only.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the shortcomings of the conventional wire reel, the inventor of the present invention based on years of experience in the related industry to conduct extensive researches and experiments, and finally developed a feasible wire reel structure to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art.

Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a wire reel structure that improves the using life of a wire reel and fits applications of different devices and equipments.

To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention discloses a wire reel structure, comprising a casing body, a reel unit and a signal line unit.

The casing body includes a central pillar for containing the reel unit therein. The signal line unit includes a first signal line and a second signal line, and the first signal line is passed to the reel unit and wound at an external side of the reel unit. The second signal line is connected to the first signal line and wound at an external side of the central pillar, wherein the first signal line and the second signal line are signal lines with different deformation curves, and the second signal line has a greater flexibility than the flexibility of the first signal line.

The advantages of the present invention are listed as follows: Since the flexibility of the second signal line is greater than the flexibility of the first signal line, so that when the second signal line is rotated at the wire section of the casing body, a reverse folding does not occur easily, and the invention can overcome the shortcoming of the conventional wire reel whose using life is limited to 1000 to 3000 times of releasing or winding a wire, and the invention also can improve the using life of the wire reel and fit applications for various different devices (including earphones and computer peripherals).

The objects, characteristics and effects of the present invention will become apparent with the detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the illustration of related drawings as follows. However, the drawings are provided for the illustration purpose only, but not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional wire reel;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another conventional wire reel;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, showing the movement of the other conventional wire reel;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the present invention, showing a second signal line at a loosened state; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the present invention, showing a second signal line at a tensed state.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 4 for a wire reel structure of the present invention, the wire reel structure comprises a casing body 2, a reel unit 3 and a signal line unit 4.

The casing body 2 includes a central pillar 21 installed therein, and further includes a first casing 22 and a second casing 23 engaged with each other, wherein central pillar 21 is formed by extending from either the first casing 22 or the second casing 23.

The reel unit 3 is contained in the casing body 2, and the central pillar 21 is passed through the reel unit 3. The reel unit 3 includes a turntable 31, a coil spring 32 contained in the turntable 31, and a cover disc 33 covered onto the turntable 31, wherein an external end portion of the coil spring 32 is latched to the turntable 31, and an internal end portion of the coil spring 32 is latched to the central pillar 21 for driving the turntable 31 to rotate automatically. The central pillar 21 is passed through the turntable 31, the coil spring 32 and the cover disc 33 sequentially.

The signal line unit 4 includes a first signal line 41 and a second signal line 42, and the first signal line 41 is passed to the reel unit 3, wound at an external side of the reel unit 3, and passed out of the casing body 2. The second signal line 42 is connected to the first signal line 41, wound at an external side of the central pillar 21 of the casing body 2, and passed out of the casing body 2. More specifically, a distal portion of the first signal line 41 is passed into the turntable 31, and a major portion of the first signal line 41 is still wound at the external side of the turntable 31, and another distal portion of the first signal line 41 is passed out of the casing body 2. A distal portion of the second signal line 42 is passed into the turntable 31 and connected to the first signal line 41, and a major portion of the second signal line 42 is still wound at the external side of the central pillar 21, and another distal portion of the second signal line 42 is passed out of the casing body 2. On the other hand, the first signal line 41 and the second signal line 42 of the invention are signal lines with different deformation curves, and the second signal line 42 has a greater flexibility than the flexibility of the first signal line 41.

In FIG. 5, if the first signal line 41 is at a tensed state, the second signal line 42 at the wire section of a self-rotating area 24 will be at a loosened state and wound at the external side of the central pillar 21. With reference to FIG. 6 together, if the first signal line 41 is pulled out, the second signal line 42 at a wire section of the self-rotating area 24 will be rotated and wound at the external side of the central pillar 21. In other words, one signal line is at a loosened state while the other signal line is rewound, or one signal line is at a tensed state while the other signal line is released. Therefore, the second signal line 42 at the wire section of the self-rotating area 24 will not have a reverse folding. Since the flexibility of the second signal line 42 is greater than the flexibility of the first signal line 41, therefore the wire section of the second signal line 42 will not have a reverse folding easily. Obviously, the present invention can improve the using life of the wire reel and fit applications of plug-and-play devices since the first signal line 41 and the second signal line 42 are connected directly.

In addition, the first signal line 41 is a common cable including a conductor 411 and an insulating layer 412 wrapped around the conductor 411, and the second signal line 42 is preferably a flexible printed circuit (FPC). The first signal line 41 and the second signal line 42 can be connected and soldered with each other by a solder.

In summation of the description above, the second signal line 42 has a greater flexibility than the flexibility of the first signal line 41, so that the second signal line 42 at the wire section in the casing body 2 will not have a reverse folding easily during the rotation, and thus the invention can overcome the shortcoming of the prior art whose using life is limited to 1000 to 3000 times of releasing and winding the wire, and the invention further improves the using life of the wire reel, and fits the applications for various different devices (including earphones and computer peripherals).

While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims. 

1. A wire reel structure, comprising: a casing body, including a central pillar; a reel unit, contained in the casing body, and sheathed on the central pillar; and a signal line unit, including a first signal line and a second signal line, and the first signal line being passed into the reel unit, and wound at an external side of the reel unit, and passed out of the casing body, and the second signal line being coupled to the first signal line, and wound at an external side of the central pillar, and passed out of the casing body, and the first signal line and the second signal line being signal lines with different deformation curves, and the second signal line having a greater flexibility than that of the first signal line.
 2. The wire reel structure of claim 1, wherein the casing body includes a first casing and a second casing engaged with each other, and the central pillar is formed by extending from either the first casing or the second casing.
 3. The wire reel structure of claim 2, wherein the reel unit includes a turntable, a coil spring contained in the turntable, and a cover disc covered onto the turntable, and an internal end portion of the coil spring is latched to the central pillar, and an external end portion of the coil spring is latched to the turntable, and the central pillar is passed through the turntable, the coil spring and the cover disc.
 4. The wire reel structure of claim 3, wherein the first signal line is passed to the turntable and coiled at an external side of the turntable, and a distal portion of the second signal line is passed to the turntable and coupled to the first signal line.
 5. The wire reel structure of claim 3, wherein the second signal line is a flexible printed circuit.
 6. The wire reel structure of claim 5, wherein the first signal line includes a conductor and an insulating layer wrapped around the conductor.
 7. The wire reel structure of claim 3, wherein the first signal line and the second signal line are coupled by soldering them together with a solder. 